What is Bravery?
by HawkfrostsAvenger
Summary: Coward. Useless. These words hurt Nanaki more than anything, but he heard them so often. Would he ever be brave? Could he face his fears? One shot


"Dinah… I don't want to do this…" Nanaki said, his voice barely more than a scratch whisper. He feared death and loneliness. He feared losing himself and worst of all he feared losing his friends.  
She turned to him now, a fierce blaze of rage and disbelief in her eyes. "I knew it, Nanaki," she hissed, "that you would be a coward."  
The word "coward" hurt. It was horrible to hear such a thing said to him. "I won't be like my father," he told himself. "I won't run from trouble. But what I am I doing now? Isn't this the same?"  
"If you won't do this, Nanaki, you are no better than your father." Now he was burning inside with pain, fear, and one more dark feeling. He couldn't tell what it was, or perhaps he just did not want to tell himself.  
Loneliness.  
This word was burned into his memory. This is how he had felt when his father had run and he had lost his mother. And now he felt as though he'd lose Dinah as well. This ritual was important, though. He had to do this for both his tribe's sake and the planet's sake.  
But his fear was getting the best of him. He turned his head away from her. His tail brushed the ground, its fire weakening.  
"Just as I thought. You are going to leave, aren't you? This ritual needs two guardians. Two brave guardians." She walked away from him, closer to the edge of the cliff where the red moon was rising. "So why don't you go already?"  
The red beast's dark mane shook in the warm breeze. He trembled, his red-brown eyes beginning to fill with tears. The last two creatures of their kind in the pitiful world and he couldn't even perform some stupid ritual! He was supposed to be noble, courageous, not a coward that feared everything!  
Neither of the creatures could hear the approaching helicopter through Nanaki's pain-filled howls, and neither would have had a bullet not struck Dinah's paw.  
Nanaki felt rage come over him now. "Dinah!" he cried.  
The helicopter landed on the cliff. Two men covered in armor with guns aimed at the creatures climbed out, followed by a man wearing a white lab coat.  
"Interesting! What fine specimens we have here!" the lab-coat man said.  
Nanaki stepped forward, nudging Dinah's shoulder lightly and standing in front of her. "Stay away from her," he snarled.  
The scientist grinned. "So it can speak! Amazing, isn't it!"  
Nanaki demanded now, "What do you want with us?" His tail flicked and he quivered, whether it had been out of fear or anger he hadn't known. It didn't matter though.  
"You will be a fine experiment indeed! Now men, capture the female. She will be fine for my new project."  
"I won't let you take her! Now get back!"  
"It's simply wonderful how similar you act like a human! Perhaps we should take both of them."  
The two men with guns surrounded Nanaki and Dinah.  
"Nanaki… I'm sorry," Dinah said. "I shouldn't have called you a coward."  
The beast shook his head. "It doesn't matter."  
With that he leapt at the scientist, barely dodging the bullets that flew past him. "DINAH! RUN!" he ordered.  
"No! I won't!"  
"GO!"  
Dinah turned and ran now, reluctantly obeying her companion's orders. She didn't stop to look back. There was nothing she could do by turning around to see him besides risk being captured too.  
It wasn't long before Nanaki was in a cage on the helicopter on his way to a place he had never seen before, only heard terrible stories of. The scientist was Professor Hojo of Shinra Inc.  
Nanaki had been taken to a strange building in the city of Midgar. Hojo began calling him "Red XIII" and had given him a tattoo to match his "number".

Time passed. Red XIII couldn't remember how much. He couldn't remember who he was and he could barely remember where he was from. Hojo had done so many experiments on him. He had done this for Dinah. Did that mean that he wasn't a coward? Was he… noble? Courageous?  
That's when he saw Cloud for the first time. A young girl had been placed in his enclosure with him now. He roared weakly, but only to act for Hojo. He hadn't known it at the time, but Cloud and his friends would lead him to his destiny. They helped him escape and let him travel with him until they reached Cosmo Canyon, Red's old home.  
He had become close to them by the time they reached there and he barely remembered anyone. Then he was reunited with his "grandfather" who had told him that he should go see where his father had gone.  
He didn't want to see the place his father Seto had hidden when the tribe was under attack. But his grandfather was wise and so he listened. He and Cloud and Tifa had followed the path in the cave until it opened once more by a cliff. A bright moon illuminated the rocks.  
Above them on the rock face stood a figure similar to Red XIII. "Is that… father?" he asked.  
His grandfather appeared beside him. "Nanaki, your father was no coward. He came here to protect our tribe when we were in danger. The enemies poison arrows turned him into stone and now he remains here, a guardian of Cosmo Canyon."  
Nanaki believed him. He would never doubt his grandfather. "What happened to Dinah?" he asked.  
"She went to find you. We fear the worst."  
Nanaki turned to the sky. His father had died a hero defending the tribe. Was he worthy of him? Was he truly brave? Dinah had gone out to look for him. It had been Nanaki that had caused her to leave, so was he a hero or was he simply a lonely, fearful coward?  
"I want to be like my father," he said at last. "Cloud, will you allow me to join you on your quest?"  
Cloud nodded.  
Perhaps Nanaki could one day be as brave as his father and Dinah.

AN. I apologize for the most likely off description of what happened. I know nearly nothing about Dinah ^^;

Don't own this


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